Cliona O'Halloran Green Party

With one last weekend of shopping before the big day, make sure to check out your local charity shop to ensure you're reducing waste and supporting a greener future!

Charity Retail Ireland

We are excited to be in Garvey's Supervalu Cobh tomorrow, Friday 22nd December, to help you pack you Christmas Shopping! 🎄

Feel free to ask our members about the club and how to get involved. Any support is appreciated. Merry Christmas 🎅☃

I really welcome this news this morning. This is an important step to protect the health of our children. It will also reduce the amount of litter and bits of 'Lost Mary' plastic and toxic waste strewn around our streets.

Government bans sale of va**ng products to under 18s Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced the banning of the sale of ni****ne inhaling products such as e-cigarettes to children.

COBH TRANSPORT SURVEY

Residents of Cobh are invited to participate in a survey to measure the demand for additional bus services for Cobh.

This survey will run until 31st March 2024, and a report will be published in April 2024.

A request will be submitted to the National Transport Authority with requests for funding for additional bus services as identified by the report.

The report will be shared with existing private bus service providers including Barrys Coaches of Cobh Connect.

SURVEY URL - https://forms.gle/ewCjxCUJGMBN2UxX9

PURPOSE OF THIS SURVEY
While we are well served in many areas Barrys Coaches Ltd of Cobh Connect and by Irish Rail with more frequent services coming in the next few years, the town is lacking access to public/private shared transport in many areas.

I have listened to many residents of Cobh express their needs for additional bus services for Cobh. This survey aims to collect data to support this in urban and rural Cobh.

This survey includes specific questions related to Ticknock and Cobh Town - areas outlined in BusConnects as requiring more services but have not been sufficiently delivered.

COBH TOWN
A circular service of the town to/from Cobh Town centre run by Barrys was welcomed back to the town in 2021. There are opportunities to expand this service in both schedule and route.

TICKNOCK
Since September, I, along with several Ticknock based businesses, services and the HSE, have written to Barrys Coaches with a request to extend the Cobh Town Bus schedule to include Ticknock in its route on an official basis (it is currently by request only). No confirmation of this extension has been provided to date.

LOCAL LINK
Local link currently provides two limited services, on Monday and Friday mornings that includes Ticknock and Cobh Town. Speaking with Local Link, they have agreed that a survey to collect data for an expansion of this service would benefit a submission to the National Transport Authority for funding for an extension services. As an accessible bus, I think there is huge opportunity here to reach more people who may be isolated due to a lack of transport options.

WHY BUSES?
Public transport is necessary for a sustainable future - a future with significantly reduced emissions to curb the threat of climate change but also a future that provides equal access to everyone to affordable and accessible transport options. Sustainability is about equality as it is about environment.

The Government has cut public transport fares for adults by 20% and halved them for young adults up to the age of 26. It has also delivered over 600km of new walking and cycling every week - a transport option that should be safe for everyone. Alot done, alot more to do, but there is an increasing momentum of progress in the right direction.

Private cars will always have a place and electric vehicle adoption is surging with 109,000 EVs of a target of 195,000 EVs (by 2025) now on Irish roads. However, the manufacturing and transport of EVs is not yet emission or problem free and they are still quite expensive. Replacing cars with cars does not reduce road congestion, and factoring in increasing local population numbers we cannot infinitely build new roads without an environmental cost.

Taxis play an important role for those occasions when public transport won't meet your transport need. I foresee a increased demand for taxi services as people make conscious decision not to have a private car but instead can rely on a mix of bus, train and taxi and active modes such as cycling & walking depending on their needs.

Thank for you participation in this survey and please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions.

Please contact me if you or someone you know has any difficulties completing the online survey online for any reason. Text or WhatsApp with a request for a callback, and I can capture their feedback over the phone.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Safe & Happy New Year.

Cliona O'Halloran - Green Party Local Representative & Local Election Candidate for 2024. Working for People & Planet.

SURVEY URL - https://forms.gle/ewCjxCUJGMBN2UxX9

Cobh News Cobh Edition Cobh & Harbour Chamber Ballymore Community Association Cork Greens Green Party Ireland Cobh2023 Cobh App

Update from St Colman’s Cemetery, December 2023

As Christmas approaches and knowing that there will be lots of visitors to the cemetery, we request that where possible people take away their own waste/grave debris.

We are providing a skip for the Christmas period at the shed end of the cemetery so if you are unable to take waste away and the bin at the main gates is full, please place the waste in the skip. No rubble should be placed in it.

Julius, who was employed in the cemetery for over two and a half years, has moved onto pastures new!

We want to thank him sincerely for his commitment and support throughout the time he worked in the cemetery, and we wish him well in the future. Until a replacement is recruited, all work is being carried out on a voluntary basis and we acknowledge the support of the volunteers.

As we plan for 2024, we are pleased to announce that in conjunction with Cobh Tidy Towns, a tree planting and hedge growing project will be undertaken, which will enhance the appearance of the cemetery and contribute to biodiversity. This is in keeping with the commitment of the Catholic Church in Ireland to return 30% of Irish church grounds to nature by 2030. Returning to Nature | Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference.

In 2024 we will undertake another fund-raising drive and we hope that all those who have so generously supported the work in the cemetery to date will continue to do so in the new year.

If anyone wants to contribute to the graveyard fund, lodgements can be made to St Colman’s Cemetery Restoration Fund in Cobh Credit Union:
IBAN IE16BRU99216895183303; BIC CBRUIE21

Thank you again for all your support. We wish you all a happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year.

Colman Rasmussen and Marita Foster

Here's your weekend line-up so far

What a year at the European Parliament! I was just thinking of what we have been working on these past 12 months and this list just keeps getting longer:

🍃 Nature Restoration Law - landmark legislation to protect 20% of Ireland's land and sea by 2030 including our priceless bogs and wetlands.
🥡 Tackling Plastic - I negotiated a new law to drastically cut down on plastic and packaging waste production.
🛑 Chemicals - we pulled off a historic ban on PFAS chemcials in food containers.
🏭 Fossil fuels - I secured the first ever EU commitment to end harmful subsidies for fossil fuels.
🌎 Soil - we will now put in place quality requirements for soil health the same way we do for air and water.
🌊 Oceans - negotiated the most significant reform of fisheries regulations in a decade, including new restrictions on industrial trawlers.
🕊 Peace - maintained EU support for Ukraine and now leading the campaign for the EU to play a braver role in ending the siege of Gaza.

All of this was possible thanks to you and your support! Looking forward to what's the come! 💪

If you would like to keep up to date with what I'm doing in the European Parliament on your behalf, sign up to my monthly newsletter here: https://bitly.ws/35nyt

Cop 28 Explainer -
Many will not be familiar or aware of the importance of COP 28, or so much else going on in the world it may be off their radar right now, so here is a short explainer.
COP is an annual meeting of world leaders to agree on legally binding policies for actions needed to curb climate change and protect those most impacted by the climate change that is happening already, increased frequency and intensity of droughts and flooding. COP started after the Paris Agreement of 2015 where 196 nations agreed we have to act to address climate change and environmental degradation.
The biggest highlight from COP28 today is an agreed text to “Transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”. Net Zero means achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed from it. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas that creates a blanket around the earth's atmosphere preventing heat from escaping. This melts the polar ice caps that play an important role in reflecting the sun so that that planet does not overheat, which impacts our weather systems and raises our sea levels.
There have been many calls from many people, notably climate activists and small island nations that are set to disappear under water in the next few years, to have strong wording here, namely “phasing out” of fossil fuels, but the above text is progress nonetheless. The fossil fuel industry - im talking about the oil and gas baron billionaires - hold a lot of power. They fund large lobbying groups and use their vast wealth to stop a progression towards renewables. They fund fake accounts online that try to discredit the vast, strong, science that we have proving that climate change is real and it is happening.
How do we achieve Net Zero? We stop burning fossil fuels, and restore & stop destroying natural sources of carbon removal, a big one being trees. Is this easy? Nothing important is ever easy but it is possible.
Renewable energy development (wind, solar, hydro), is happening right now. Some countries are more advanced than others, but the momentum is building.
The problem is that it is not economically feasible for many countries in the ‘global south’ (poorer countries) to fund such infrastructure. These same countries are the ones most impacted by the cost of expensive fossil fuels, most reliant on them, and also, most affected by climate change. Therefore, another big requirement is the creation of a pool of money, filled by the rich countries of the Global North (who have the highest fossil fuel emissions, including Ireland) to support the Global South in their transition to renewables.
Ireland is not immune to climate change. We have already seen more frequent and intense storms and flooding including most recently in Midleton and Carrigtwohill. We will see hotter summers, which some may welcome, but this will harm agriculture and make it more challenging to grow crops. We also rely on imported food from abroad, grain, fruits and vegetables, where food production challenges will increase prices for us. Famine and dangerous weather will increase conflict, death and migration from in countries most impacted.
There are many actions that individuals and businesses can and should be doing, and I'll post that another day soon.
If you have any genuine questions about this topic and want to learn more, I would be happy to chat to you (regardless of your political following). Knowledge is power, and for the future of our children, we must be all empowered. I am a post-graduate in Sustainability in Enterprise from UCC, and Im studying and researching these topics daily. If I cant answer something, I be able to point you in the direction of reliable sources of information.
https://www.greenparty.ie/news/paris-agreement-stronger-today-it-was-yesterday-ryan
Cobh Edition Cobh News East Cork EditionCouncillor Alan O'Connor Carrigtwohill Community CouncilCarrigtwohill Community News Carraig na BhFear Community Council Little Island Business Association

Paris Agreement is stronger today than it was yesterday – Ryan | Green Party Gavel comes down on COP28 text which includes language on fossil fuels for the first time.

Christmas Timetables for All Routes 🎅🎄⛄

There's nothing nicer than a hot drink on a cold winters day!
To be as sustainable as possible, make sure you're using a reusable cup!
Cork County Council My Waste Ireland

Christmas your way ❤️❤️😊a lot of people are struggling this Christmas .It's not the most wonderful time of the year for everyone. It can be the most challenging time of the year for many ,it can be a trigger to alot of people who are struggling with their mental health ,family issues, and money problem's to name a few .
Do you this Christmas, only do what you can ❤️

Notice of two road closures in Carrigtwohill area, conducted by Sorensen Civil Engineering, as part of the Eirgrid Interconnector Project, to begin Monday December 11th:

1. From the junction at New Line (L-2966) and the L-7631 Ballinakilla towards Garranes. Sorensen will commence trenching and ducting from 6am Monday 11th December 2023, and will continue until 6pm on Friday 23rd February 2024 approximately (except 21st December - 2nd January). See map below for location.

2. From the junction at Upper Garranes (L–7634) down Woodstock Hill (L-3606). Sorensen will commence trenching and ducting from 6am Monday 11th December 2023, and will continue until 6pm on Friday 22nd March 2024 approximately (except 21st December - 2nd January). See map below for location.

*

Both these road sections will be closed 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Both will reopen on Thursday 21st of December until Tuesday 2nd January.

Local and emergency access will continue, and Sorensen have said that they will make every effort to minimise any disruption to residents, businesses, and the general public, along the route.

You can contact Bus Éireann directly for information regarding School Buses, at [email protected]

If you would like more information on the works, you can contact
[email protected].

Sorensen’s liaison officer Elaine Cronin is also available to answer questions regarding work in the area, at 086 032 6171.

Lovely visit to St. St. Benedict’s Priory, Cobh, Ireland. this after noon for their annual Christmas Fayre including an unplanned visit to Santa, who was great and gave lots of time to the each child. Picked up some treats and ill be back during the week to top up my refills (price list attached).

Lovely visit to St. St. Benedict's Priory, Cobh, Ireland. this after noon for their annual Christmas Fayre including an unplanned visit to Santa, who was great and gave lots of time to the each child. Picked up some treats and ill be back during the week to top up my refills (price list attached).

Reports of a collision, eastbound, on the N40 South Ring Road between Bloomfield and Mahon. Take care on approach.

Condolences to James family, so sad. Sharing link to a go fund me below as his family need to arrange to bring him home Tanzania.

Community comes together to help bring dad home after tragedy on Kilimanjaro Thousands in donations are pouring in to support the family as they prepare

List of Schools approved for the Hot School Meals Programme from April 2024.
I've listed several schools in the Cobh Electoral area that I could identify by roll number, but in case there are more, see link below:

Carrigtwohill
Scoil Mhuire Naofa (18000W)
Carrigtwohill Community National School (20442U)
Scoil Chlochair Mhuire National School (17103E)

Cobh
St Marys Primary School Cobh (16377N)
Gaelscoil Shean Ui Eigeartaigh Cobh (19899M)
SN Seosamh (St. Josephs) Cobh (15718I)

Little Island
Little Island National School (18497K)

Note: Schools would have had to apply for this.

https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/937b9-list-of-schools-approved-for-the-hot-school-meals-programme-from-april-2024/

Playground safety: Ive contacted Cobh Municpal District Council requesting an additional latch or lock mechanism to be added to the entrance gates of the playground in Whitepoint/five foot way in Cobh. While this is a really great facility (thanks to funds raised by the community for its construction), several parents & guardians have raised concerns with me about how easy it is for a small or flighty child to run out the gate, and reported some instances of this happening in recent times. As a mother of two young kids, I share their anxiety - it can happen even to the most observant of parents or minders. Glounthaune playground has a basic latch, though a different gate design.

Cork Penny Dinners Food Drive 🛒

LCA2 are doing a food bank collection on behalf of Cork Penny Dinners for their Vocational Preparation and Guidance module TOMORROW December 6th and THURSDAY December 7th. We would very grateful if students could bring in any of the following:

• Tinned or canned foods – soups, vegetables
• Dried foods – pastas etc
• Biscuits/sweets

Donations will be collected tomorrow during assembly and would be greatly appreciated by Cork Penny Dinners.

It's the weekend and here's you local Gig Guide so far.

When you bump into your Dad (whos an Ironman) at the gym, you can’t exactly take it easy 🙈 24hr bike/run/swim fundraiser for in Memory of Gillian McSweeney (nee Greaney), friend and Senior Mixed Rowing champion teammate who passed away unexpectedly in April this year. Gills husband Owen has praised the response by first responders. If you can spare a few euro, they are raising vital funds.

🚨 IMPORTANT NOTICE 🚨
PLEASE SHARE - Public Defibrillator situated at Mc Carthy Commercials T56 DD78 while unit at the Community Centre is been serviced.

💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩For the 3rd week in a row someone has had to clean 13 bags of dog poo out of the plastic bottle recycling bin at the Tech Field! Mind boggling stuff.

The 4 plastic bottle cage bins around town are for plastic bottle recycling and nothing else - NOT coffee cups, not crisp packets, not sweet wrappers, not food packaging and most certainly NOT dog poo. Take it to the next street bin to dispose of your dogs poo.

👗CORK CITY SWAP SHOP🥻

We're back again this Friday for our monthly Swap Shop!

Bring along 1-5 items of clothing to swap, and pick up some new pieces to update your own wardrobe. It's as simple as that!

Fantastic! 🙌🏆🏆

Ahead of COP 28, a reminder of who is most responsible for Climate Change. Switching our electricity grid to renewables, insulating our homes and cutting down our virgin plastic consumption (plastic comes from oil), is how we cut the profits of the fossil fuel industry and combat climate change.

Oblivian starring Olivia Colman Meet Oblivia Coalmine, the latex clad oil exec paid for by our pensions. This new film from Make My Money Matter, starring the Academy Award winner Olivia C...

The public realm project will elevate Cobh Town Centre to the type of town that we love to stroll around when we are abroad. Imagining and implementing the ideal place to live will require changes, and sometimes change is uncomfortable and will require a change in our thinking but the end result will be worth it. When the time comes, it will be important to engage on the process, ask questions, express concerns to your local councillors & reps, to be part of progressive change.

🏆 We are delighted to have won the prestigious Public Space Planning Award 2023 at the KPMG Property Industry Excellence Awards 2023 for our Cobh Town Centre Urban Design Plan.

🤝 The multidisciplinary team involved in the project demonstrated a commitment to high-quality, holistic urban planning and particularly impressed the judges with the level of community engagement shown throughout the project.

ℹ️ See more on our website: https://www.corkcoco.ie/en/news/cork-county-council-receives-kpmg-property-excellence-award-2023-for-cobh-town-centre-urban-design

Big news for Carrigtwohill: An Bord Pleanála (ABP) have approved a 10-year permission for a large residential development in the town, between the new school campus and the railway line. The examiner report is here (https://www.irishexaminer.com/nationalnews/arid-41276737.html), though I think the original 716 units proposed will be reduced (more on that below).

I had made a submission to the process (viewable at (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HdmN0i51evUwqghQKPpG7gpvQhFOme3IMrDV2osryLk/edit).

I also posted my general thoughts at the time (https://www.facebook.com/CllrAlanOConnor/posts/pfbid0Zp2c992uh1zTBzw8iDh8ur6HbWgkRcbRyqvhFgEzoeuCykzMYPXyqMrrsjfLUdEEl).

Overall, I felt the plans could have been more ambitious in being more urban in form, with increased density & reduced car dependency.

An Bord Pleanála's inspector (in agreement with Cork County Council planners) concluded that density proposed in the application was appropriate. I know many feel differently on this issue, but change is needed in how we build our towns, and this site was perfectly suited to giving expression to that. Density just a number of course, and the 43 units per hectare is higher than e.g. Elmbury. It's up to architects to give expression to that number, in the design of buildings. Above a certain point, you're restricted to apartments, of course, but at the 50 mark, there are still possibilities for own-door development, with more terracing, fewer car-parking spaces, more communal green spaces, etc. Anyway, this is a separate argument which I've treated at length elsewhere (e.g. https://www.facebook.com/CllrAlanOConnor/posts/pfbid0AgAV4CFAey8jiRyCfupfDvDvmi31u67ML87uEMdVHryVEyU7V9RsJ7yUUqGybQbrl).

With respect to car-dependency, the board recommended that car parking spaces be reduced by 195 to 1,102. The original proposition of 1,297 was 138 in excess of the maximum allowed by our county development plan, which mandates maximum parking for every unit type (be they house, duplex, etc.). Despite the reduction, and recognising that there will always be those who need to travel by car, we're still a long way from the kind of car-free/light developments we are seeing emerge in Europe. With less space given for parking, developments have a smaller footprint, and walking and cycling becomes more feasible.

Another thing I'm glad about, arising from ABP's ruling, is that one area of the proposal is to be omitted to allow assessment of the culverting of the Woodstock river, along the new (and as yet unopened) road opposite the station road entrance to Cúl Árd.

The works carried out seriously degraded the river by moving it and capturing it in concrete. My hope is that the river will be returned to its natural channel. I raised this point in my sub, and separately with Cork County Council (see e.g. CllrAlanOConnor/posts/pfbid02zLbf5sK3CgKRXHPZTaCZPAtmezxKLZHRHonswAPs5CbD8AW6UHiP6wxAajdrL51fl)

In a correction to the above, I don't think the works ultimately had anything to do with the school campus.

Despite the above thoughts, and submission, I respect the inspectors thorough deliberations, and my thanks to them for their report, which the board used in making their decision. In terms of the process, I feel I have been able to make a contribution, and that the value of public participation, and the existence of planning frameworks like the county development plan, which gives a general blueprint for how development should proceed, and to which people can have reference to in making their submission, have been demonstrated. That said, the fact only eleven people made a submission says something as well. People generally don't have time, I guess, and maybe the whole process is still a little inaccessible.

The planning permission will last ten years, so we'll await further developments. Carrigtwohill has changed enormously in my lifetime, and there's more to come. People need homes, and Carrig is ideally suited for development. If we do it well, we'll have a larger & stronger community on the other side.

Omigod you guys!!!🌸🌸
Tickets for our musical are on sale now from Ca’s Cabin!
The musical will run from 23rd to the 27th January
Be quick as they are sure to sell out fast!

Announced by Green Party Ireland Minister Ossian Smyth TD (of Cobh stock) and Minister for Education Norma Foley today, every school in the country will receive 16 solar panels. I have been working on pro-bono community projects for large community buildings of 'School size' in my professional capacity and 16 panels will meet the daily energy needs of most schools, and will have a significant impact on energy builds. Decarbonisation of our country should be led by our public services. The scheme will assist schools in reducing both their energy costs and their carbon footprint, bringing Ireland closer to fulfilling its Climate Action Plan. The schools will also receive monitoring software allowing staff and students to review and learn about the energy generated. The sight of solar panels on their school roof will be an educational symbol to show students how they can contribute to taking climate action. Cork is not included in the first wave, but I look forward to their inclusion subsequent waves soon. The Solar PV companies are ready do the work and the supply chain is healthy. Lets get going. Cobh Edition Cobh News Carrigtwohill Community Council Carrigtwohill Schools Community Carrigtwohill Community National School - Carrigtwohill Carrignafoy Community College Colaiste Muire Cobh Gaelscoil Uí Éigeartaigh Cóbh Bunscoil Rinn An Chabhlaigh St Mary’s National School Cobh St Aloysius’ College, CarrigtwohillCarraig na BhFear Community Council Watergrasshill Notice Board Glounthaune Community Association Cobh2023

Congratulations Ballymore Community Association, Cleancoast Cobh and Cobh Tidy Towns for their trojan efforts this year? cleaning up our islands coasts. I was delighted to play a very small part in Cuskinny on a fresh morning in September. There is so much waste on our strands that may not be visible from the road but once you looks closely, you’ll soon find tonnes of plastic, macro and micro pieces of waste.

Cork cleans up in Ocean Hero Awards shortlist | Cork Independent Five groups from Cork have been shortlisted in the Clean Coasts’ Ocean Hero Awards. The awards pay tribute to the contributions made by Clean Coasts volunteers, groups, and communities in safeguarding coastal and marine life.